Rising From the Flames
by shatteredglass109
Summary: Phoenix, Max and Fang's daughter is captured by the School 2, a newer and more dangerous School than the previous one. It is run by the sinister Dr. Ryme Unglur. Now, Phoenix must use all her wits in order to escape a worse nightmare than her parents had experienced. Rated T for minor violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Umm, this is my first story, so please give me feedback on how to make it better. Thanks.**

Chapter One

Phoenix darted behind a wall, her heart pounding. She could hear the heavy footsteps coming closer. Phoenix had to get away. Silently, she crouched down and began to crawl into the shadows. The man was coming closer, with intent to capture her. Suddenly, there was a loud thump behind her.

She shrieked as strong arms wrapped around her. "Got you!" cried Fang. Phoenix struggled, but Fang's arms were like iron bars.

"Daddy!" she cried. "Fine! You got me!" Chuckling, her father let go of her and stood up, stretching.

"Why don't we fly back to mom?" he suggested. Phoenix nodded, but inside, she was a bit nervous. She had only flown once before, and that had been the most terrifying and most exhilarating experience ever. In sync, they spread out their identical jet black wings. Fang grinned, and jumped into the sky, flapping his powerful wings. "Come on, Phoenix!" he called to her. Phoenix bit her lip.

"I'm scared!" she shouted. Fang swooped back down to her.

"It'll be fine, sweetheart," he murmured. Then he flashed her one of his trademark smirks. "You know I'll never let you fall." Phoenix took a deep breath. She understood that her father would never let her get hurt, and she trusted him a great deal. Phoenix spread out her wings and launched herself into the air. Immediately, she began to fall, and she cried out to Fang for help.

"Fly!" he shouted. "Fly!" Phoenix closed her eyes and flapped her wings hard. She lifted a little higher into the air.

"I'm doing it!" she shouted joyously. She was so entranced by the view that she completely forgot to follow her father back home. After twenty minutes or so, she noticed that she was far away from any landscape she recognized. "Daddy?" Phoenix cried.

There was no one. She began to fly slowly over an abandoned building when suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her leg. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, the world turned black, and Phoenix began to fall.

"It's remarkably strong!"

"Got the father's invincible DNA!"

"Wonderful specimen, in strength, intellect, and looks!"

Phoenix groggily opened her eyes and blinked, the fluorescent lights blinding her. "Where am I?" she asked, frightened. A man wearing a lab coat leaned over her.

"It can talk!" he murmured excitingly to his colleagues. Phoenix suddenly realized that her arms and legs were restrained by thick leather bands. She began to thrash and scream, her high pitched voice echoing off the walls.

"Let me go!" she screamed. Phoenix remembered the stories her mom and dad had told her, terrifying stories about the School. In her stomach, she had a queasy feeling that she was in the School right now. What would they do to her? Would they slowly dissect her, part by part, or would they run tests on her to test her extreme limits? Aunt Angel had once said that the School had made her run around in a maze, and if she stopped, they would shock her.

Phoenix's heart pounded harder and faster. She didn't wish to find out what fate was in store for her. An unseen door creaked open and footsteps came to the gurney she was lying on. A woman with long blond hair and bright green eyes peered at her. "Number 34562," she said. "Beautiful." The woman reached out and stroke Phoenix's head.

"What a beautiful child, gone to waste because of these corrupt wings," she said, gesturing to Phoenix's jet black wings. The woman plucked out a few feathers, and Phoenix flinched.

"Who are you?" Phoenix said through clenched teeth. The woman smiled.

"I'm Dr. Unglur, but you can call me Ryme. Phoenix shook her head. No way she was going to say anything more to this woman. The doctor stood up. "Take her to Lab 3," Dr. Unglur instructed. "Run the tests on her there." Strong arms grabbed Phoenix. The leather bands were taken off, and she was dragged down a spotless white hall. After a few turns, she was tossed into another white room. The door closed, and the lock turned. Phoenix was trapped. She turned, scared out of her wits as more white clad people reached down and hauled her to her feet. There was a treadmill a few feet away. Somebody fastened a collar around her neck and said, "Run for a day. If you can do that without stopping, you'll receive food and water. If you stop before the time limit, we'll shock you through the collar. If you are unable to continue, we'll continue shocking you until you get back up onto your feet.

"If you make any attempt to escape, well, you'll get electrified."

Without another word, Phoenix was shoved onto the treadmill which promptly turned on. At first it was slow, but then it gradually became faster and faster until Phoenix's little legs were a blur. Only after an hour she began to feel tired. She stopped for a second, and a painful shock washed over her body. Phoenix cried out, and her legs began pumping again.

She must have been running for at least 20 hours before her small body finally gave away, and Phoenix collapsed onto the treadmill. When the dreadful shock did come, she didn't feel a thing. Phoenix was out cold.

She was in a dark, dark place. No sound could be heard, and Phoenix couldn't see anything but black. "Help!" she cried. Her voice echoed off invisible walls, and no one came. "Hello?" Phoenix shouted. No answer. Then two people did appear, reaching out towards her. Mom and Dad. Nearly sobbing with relief, Phoenix stretched out her hand to them. Time slowed down. Their fingers came closer and closer. Right when they were about to touch, her parents disappeared in a flash.

Phoenix bolted awake, sweat trickling down her face. Anger and frustration filled her. She had been so close, yet so far. Then she noticed her surroundings. Phoenix was lying on a cot in a small white room with no windows. In the center of the room sat a black box with a note.

She crawled off the cot and read the note. It said: FIGURE OUT HOW TO OPEN THIS BOX. IT HAS YOUR LUNCH IN IT. IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE BOX, YOU DON'T GET YOUR FOOD. THE MINUTE YOU TOUCH THE BOX, THE TIME WILL START. LET THE LIGHT GUIDE YOU! GO!

Phoenix's stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since breakfast. Her anger was replaced with determination. I can do this, she said to herself. Her fingers grazed the box, and she knew the stopwatch had started. Quickly, Phoenix turned the box over in her hands. It was heavy and about the size of a ten by ten Rubix cube, if there is such a thing. She shook it, and something inside rattled.

This sound made her even more set on finding a way to open the box. Phoenix ran her fingers over the surface of the box, searching for any hinges or anything that might give a clue on how to open the box. There was nothing. The surface was incredibly smooth with no bumps what so ever.

She began to smack the box in several different places, hoping to accidentally hit the right spots. Five minutes and a red hand later, she gave up trying to guess the spot. Phoenix read the note again for any clues. Then something caught her eye. LET THE LIGHT GUIDE YOU. She frowned. Let the light guide her? She squinted at the only light source: the overhead lights.

Acting on a hunch, Phoenix held up the box to the light, and she waited. And waited, and waited. Finally, just when she was about to pull the box away, she noticed something. Phoenix rubbed her eyes. Yes, it was still there. The faint image of a small tray. Excited, she held the box up to the light a little longer, and gradually with every passing second, the black box grew more translucent.

At last, the box became completely transparent, and Phoenix could see a small tray with something wrapped in tinfoil on it. She eagerly tried to open the box, forgetting that there was no lock. When she experienced no luck, Phoenix let out a scream of frustration. She was so close, only separated by a stupid layer of glass. Her mouth watered at the sight of her food.

Again and again she tried to open it, but luck was not granted to her. When her patience was completely gone, she smashed the box against the floor in anger. She didn't care what happened to it. Just as Phoenix turned away, she heard the sound of glass shattering. Whipping around, she saw broken glass littering the floor. There, in the center of the shattered sat the little tray with the wrapped mystery food.

With a feral cry of hunger, Phoenix snatched up the food and viciously tore away the tinfoil. She revealed the juiciest and coldest hamburger she had ever seen before. Within seconds, she had devoured the meal. As soon as she let the tinfoil fall to the floor, she smelled the scent of intoxicating flowers. Before she realized where the strange blue gas was coming from, Phoenix was knocked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Max hummed a little tune as she poured more vegetable oil into the pan. She paused to smell the wonderful aroma just as Fang arrived. With a grin, Max abandoned her cooking and gave him a quick kiss. "Where's Phoenix?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.

"She's right behind me," Fang said confidently. He turned. His jaw fell open. "Phoenix?" he called frantically. "Where are you?"

Max's eyes widened. "What do you mean, where is she?" Fang held up his hands.

"No, she was right behind me!"

Worry made Max snap. She promptly slapped Fang across the face. "You idiot! We've got to find her! She could be lost, tired, hungry, or worse!"

Fang nodded, holding a hand to his reddening cheek. "Yes, ma'am." He took off through the front door. Max paced back and forth, tears appearing in her eyes. Phoenix, that stupid little rascal. Maybe she just ran off because she saw something interesting. But what if… Dread washed over Max. What if her little girl had fallen while flying? She could be seriously hurt!

Max rushed through the door and spread out her wings. As soon as she took flight, her sharp eyes began to scan the landscape. The earth was still recovering from the meteor, so there was still a lot of ash and rubble. Now, though, Max could see small trees poking out fro the ground, and the river didn't look as contaminated as it had before. "Phoenix?" she called. No answer.

Max searched for about an hour or so with no luck. "I need help," she said to herself. Swooping down, she landed in front of a large house near a cliff. She knocked on the door and waited.

"Coming," said a muffled voice somewhere inside the house. The door was opened to reveal Iggy, still as tall and strawberry blonde as Max remembered. "What?" he asked. Max bit her lip.

"I need your help," she said. "Phoenix is missing." Iggy snapped to attention.

"What? Our little Phoenix?" A single tear escaped Max's eye despite her attempt to keep back her emotions.

"Yeah, she and Fang were playing hide and seek. She must have gotten off track when they were coming home. May I come in?" Iggy moved aside to allow Max to step inside the house. She immediately noticed the thousands of pictures hanging on the walls. Nearly all of them were of her sister, Ella. She was dead now, drowned during the apocalypse.

A pang of sadness pierced Max's heart. "You still miss her, don't you," said Max quietly. Iggy nodded without a word.

"Let's get the others," he said in a strained voice. Max walked to the spiraling staircase and shouted, "Nudge! Gazzy! Get your butts down here right now!" There was stumbling somewhere upstairs, and ten seconds later, there were two sleepy looking teenagers at the foot of the stairs.

"Waas it, Marx," slurred Gazzy. Max grabbed his shoulders and shook him awake. "Okay, okay! I'm awake," he grumbled. Nudge yawned.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"Phoenix is missing," puts in Iggy. Nudge's mouth fell open, and she turned to Max for confirmation. When Max nodded, Nudge bursts into tears.

"Oh no!" Nudge wailed. "What will we do?"

"We find her, obviously," said Gazzy. His wings were already out and ready to take flight. Iggy nodded.

"All right, let's go," he said. They ran outside and started flying. "We'll meet back here in three hours!" Iggy shouted. "Got it?"

"Got it!" shouted the rest of the Flock. Max flew high, hoping to catch a glimpse of her daughter, but there wasn't a little girl with black hair and black wings in sight. Max flew for a long time before she was flying over a forest.

"Maybe she's hiding in the woods," Max murmured. Gently she landed in the shade of a tall oak tree. The forest was eerily silent, which was strange as there was always something moving, even if it was as small as a beetle. "Phoenix?" Max called. The only thing she heard was the wind blowing the leaves.

She began to trek across the dry soil and crunchy leaves, calling out her daughter's name. Max searched for about thirty minutes before suddenly, a twig snapped. Max whirled around, her ears perking. Nothing. But she stayed still for another five minutes, just in case. Finally she was about to continue her search when something large and heavy slammed into her back.

With a cry of surprise, Max did a face-plant into a pile of leaves. She felt the tips of sharp teeth graze her neck before she let out a cry and shoved the animal off her back. Max twisted around to glare at her attacker. Her first thought was, Eraser! No, that's wrong. Erasers were vaguely human. This animal was completely wolf, or so it seemed. Max slowly backed up.

As soon as she heard the quiet humming sound, she dove to the side instinctively. Just in time as well. From the wolf's eyes shot out two glowing red lasers. They burned two holes in the tree where Max had been standing in front of only moments ago. "Oh, come on!" complained Max. "It's a mutant wolf that just has to have freaking laser beams!" The humming came again, and Max spread her wings and jumped into the air as the lasers burned the spot she had just been lying on.

Before the wolf could shoot lasers again, Max kicked it soundly across the jaw. Its head snapped sideways, and Max punched it again for good measure. The wolf gave out a long howl. It was calling for its friends. Five dark shapes leaped out of nowhere and started tearing at Max. One sank its teeth deep into her shoulder, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. Another swipes its claws across her side, and Max barely manages to stumble away. Weak, she spread out her wings and launched into the air.

Somehow, she managed to dodge the lasers that were shooting up towards her. Max began to fly as fast as she could to get away from the mutants howling behind her. Her flying became slower, and she felt extremely lightheaded. "You'll be fine," she says to no one in particular. Max ripped off a strip of her T shirt to wrap her side. She did the same for her wounded shoulder.

A raindrop splattered against her hair. "Oh, this is just great," groaned Max. "It's gonna rain." Sure enough, it was raining cats and dogs within two minutes. Max was soaking wet within seconds. Brushing aside a stand of wet hair, Max shivered. It probably was already three hours since she had left Iggy's house. Disappointed in not finding Phoenix, Max turned around and flew back to Iggy's house.

Or at least, she tried to. Almost instantly, the weight of her wet feathers dragged her down. Max had no choice but to walk.

By the time she got back to the meeting place, Max was wet, shivering, and covered in mud. Iggy raised his eyebrows. "Well, looks like you had a fun trip," he said. Max glared at him.

"Yes, I definitely did," she snarled. "Where's Fang?"

"Here," Fang said, emerging from the house. "No luck finding her." Max's bottom lip quivered.

"Nothing?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"No," murmured Fang, looking down. "I'm sorry. We'll continue searching."

"You'd better!" said Max, marching upstairs to take a shower. "Oh, and I'll kill you later, Fang. Just let me shower first." Fang had never looked so upset in his life. Max felt bad for saying those words to him, but she was too angry at the moment. She twisted the knob and let the hot water run over her, and she tried to loose herself in the gushing water.


	3. Chapter 3

**Special thanks to my reviewers! You guys are the ones pushing me on to write this story! About updating…well, some days I have more time than other days, so you'll sometimes see two chapters in one day, and none for another day. I'll try to update at least once a week!**

Phoenix was having a wonderful dream. She was at home in her soft bed, and the wonderful aroma of pancakes floated upstairs. She was just getting up, thinking it was breakfast time. A normal day, filled with pleasant things.

Suddenly, Phoenix found herself lying in a dog crate, just like the one her mom and dad had described to her. There was no soft bed, and no delicious pancakes. She wasn't at home at all. Scared, she sat upright and looked around. The crate was made of tough plastic, much too hard to break through, even for Phoenix with her invincible DNA.

In the crate was a ratty old blanket that Phoenix had been lying on, a bowl of water, and a pile of something in the corner that looked suspiciously like waste. The sour smell of chemicals filled her nose when she poked it outside the bars, trying to get a good look at the room the crate was sitting in.

Everything was blinding white: the lights, the ceiling, walls, floor, and even the equipment. Thankfully, there were no insane doctors running around to perform tests on her. Phoenix was all alone. Well, at first. The door was pushed open, and two people wearing stark white lab coats carried in a crate with a strangely humanoid figure. They set down the crate next to Phoenix and left the room.

Phoenix squinted, trying to see the new prisoner. She could vaguely make out a mop of dark brown hair, tattered clothes, and brilliant blue eyes, but what drew her attention were the wings sprouting from the figure's back. "Hey!" Phoenix said with surprise.

"You're just like me!"

The figure didn't answer, which annoyed her. She stuck her thin arm out the crate and reached toward the bird mutant. "Hi, my name is Phoenix!" she said. Faster than she could blink, the figure lunged forward and sank its teeth into her hand. Phoenix screeched and yanked back her hand. She examined the wound, and sighed with relief.

It wasn't deep, but it did sting like crazy. "What is wrong with you?" Phoenix whispered-screamed. "I was only trying to be nice!" From the crate there came a wobbly voice.

"You were? I thought you would poke and prod me like those people in white coats."

"The scientists? Yeah, there's a big problem. Don't worry, they did the same to me," said Phoenix, slightly warming up to the new strangers. "So what's your name?"

"Ben," he said softly. "I'm six years old." Phoenix's face broke into a grin.

"Same here. Now that introductions are over, I have to get back to planning my escape." Ben's eyebrows rose up.

"Really? Can you help me escape too?" Phoenix shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. She scooted as far as she could next to the bars of the dog crate. "All right, listen up," Phoenix said. "I haven't decided how yet, but plan A is to escape through the air ducts."

She pointed at the wall. "If plan A is what we'll go with, there are a couple things we need to do. First, we have to be in separate rooms. If we escape together, the scientists will catch one of us more easily."

Ben nodded. "That makes sense." Phoenix wondered why she was trusting this boy so easily. She had literally just met him! Maybe it was because he was a bird mutant like her, or around the same the same age as her as well. Phoenix knew she was taking a big risk by trusting this boy, but she had to try.

She continued with plan A. "Don't take anything with you, not that you had anything to begin with. We also have to escape at exactly the right time. The only really big problem with plan A is the fact that I don't know where the exit is," said Phoenix with a wince, "and if we don't escape fast enough, the scientists might either send someone up to retrieve us, or they might…well, let's just say they'll make the air temperature extreme. As soon as we get out, we'll part ways and fly to where ever we want."

"So what's plan B?" asked Ben. Phoenix thought for a moment.

"Well, it's either plan A or take out everybody in this facility. I doubt the second choice is likely to happen, so I hope the first one will." Ben nodded.

"So when should we do it?" he asked. Phoenix grinned.

"How about this, I'll escape first. Once I'm in the air vent, the scientists will be causing huge rackets trying to get me. If you hear them, make your move." They stuck out hands and shook.

"Got it," said Ben. "Let's hope we can escape soon." Phoenix's ears perked at the sound of someone turning the handle of the door. Quickly, she flung herself onto the blanket and curled up, pretending to be asleep. Phoenix heard footsteps come into the room. The footsteps stopped in front of her crate.

A familiar voice said, "Hello, number 34562. It's been quiet a while since I'm seen you." Phoenix was afraid to open her eyes, so she stayed as still as she could. The crate door was opened with a creak. Phoenix squeezed her eyes shut tighter, perspiration running down her cheek. Someone viciously yanked her out by the ankles lifted her up. In the process, her head banged against the crate roof, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Phoenix dared to open one eye to look into cold, calculating green eyes. The eyes were set into a pale face framed by blonde curls. Dr. Ryme Unglur smiled coldly. "It's about time we met again. Oh, we're going to have such fun in the labs! Let me tell you about the last one." The doctor leaned forward and whispered, "Our last test subject child, number 4563, screamed for three hours. It set the newest record for the School 2. Can you break it?" Bile rose up in Phoenix's throat.

They had murdered a child in cold blood, and they made the screams a freaking record? Phoenix spat right in the chiseled face of Dr. Unglur. Shrieking in repulsion, the doctor jerked back and wiped her face with the sleeve of her lab coat. "Your death will be filled with the most excruciating agony," she snarled. "George! Get this filthy thing out of my sight!" Phoenix was tossed into someone's arms. A sharp pain in her right arm, and the world faded into the dark.

 **Well, not the longest chapter. This one was rather short, sorry, dear readers. Hehe, but I did leave off on a cliffie! Muwahaha! Okay, not the best cliffie either. This was sort of a meh chapter, but I promise the next one will be better! Please review!**


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